What Matters in the Moment

Distractions

So picture you're standing at the Ad-Court side waiting for your least favorite shot to be delivered. You absolutely hate that side because in your head, you just hate your backhand and your opponent knows it. So for certain there's going to be yet another serve delivered to remind you of how much work you need on that part of your game. And to add to your misery, you're playing at a public park where they don't take very much care of the court's surface. And on the court next to you are people who have racquets but every other ball they hit winds up on your court along with that familiar "sorry, help please" call out. Then if that were not bad enough, on the outside of the courts, you can hear a baby crying and no one seems to be the least bit concerned about stopping it. As you stand there in wonderment trying to remember why you like this game, you clearly hear the sound of motorcycles riding back and forth on the street, cell phones ringing in what seems 2 minute increments, the thumping of sub-woofers in the parking lot (which probably why the kid is crying) and if nothing could be worse for you, from the corner of your eye you spot a beautiful lady wearing tight shorts that highlight long beautiful shapely legs, who is using that very moment to bend over and tie her shoes with her backside pointing right at you when your partner decides to serve the ball to your backhand that you flub badly.

Why did this guy error on the backhand return?

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.